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Bryant planning its first Christmas Parade of Lights |
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Thursday, 20 November 2008 |
Entries are coming in for Bryant’s first Christmas Parade of Lights to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4. The Bryant Area Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas Committee is encouraging even more to enter.
“We have a good start, but we want a bigger parade,” said co-chairman state Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant.
A dozen entries have been received, but several more groups have requested entry forms that have not yet been returned, said chamber Director Rae Ann Fields.
The parade will be followed by a special Christmas party and visit with Santa at Midtown Bryant Square.
The after-parade party at Midtown will include the following: photos with Santa at the Market Pavilion, free with the donation of a non-perishable food item for Potluck Food Rescue or an unwrapped toy for Toy Troopers; premium ice cream samples provided by Midtown Market and Deli; Christmas caroling with choirs; a Radio Disney 99.5 FM live remote; and a Christmas cakewalk with proceeds donated to Habitat for Humanity. A Christmas movie will show on a large screen TV.
Craig O’Neill, news anchor for KTHV Channel 11, will continue the tradition of reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” for the delight of the children.
All groups interested in the parade may enter a lighted float or entry; the parade will begin with line-up at First Southern Baptist Church and proceed down Reynolds Road to Sullivan. Floats, displays, riders and walkers will then turn left and stop at the middle school parking lot.
“It will be important to light the float as it will be an evening parade. However, you can achieve lighting through battery-operated floodlights if a generator is not available to you,” said co-chairwoman Carla Harris. “Consider glow sticks or jewelry for the float riders or any walkers so they will show up, too.”
Lineup for the parade will be at 5 p.m. at First Southern Baptist Church.
All churches, school organizations, businesses and community organizations are invited to participate. A $5 entry fee is charged to cover the administration of the event. A trophy will be given for the Grand Prize. Prizes will be awarded for the first-, second- and third-place floats. The trophy presentation will take place at the Midtown Christmas party.
Celebrity judges for the event include Chuck Dovish, a Bryant resident who is known for his traveling Arkansas program on AETN, and Scott Suggs, bass fishing tournament champion. Dovish is also morning radio personality on KSSN radio on Saturdays.
Searchlights will help guide people to the party at the end of Commonwealth through the Westpointe subdivision for the after-party at Midtown Bryant.
Those interested in registering for the Christmas Parade can contact the chamber at 847-4702 for more details or a form. Be sure to specify that you want a form for the Christmas parade.
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